


Lucky Thirteen

by coreopsis



Category: Alkaline Trio (Band), Bandom, Bob Bryar fandom
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M, RPS - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-15
Updated: 2011-01-15
Packaged: 2017-10-14 19:06:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/152465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coreopsis/pseuds/coreopsis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three people Bob cuddled and one who cuddled him. Unconnected vignettes of snuggling at varying levels of AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lucky Thirteen

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Mahoni and Offonmars for beta reading, and to everyone who discussed in my lj how snuggly Bob looks. ♥

(date night)

When Bob invited Spencer over to watch a movie, he said yes immediately. It was Bob fucking Bryar, hot-as-hell drummer from My Chemical Romance, so of course Spencer was going to say yes. Even if it was just a platonic us-drummers-got-to-stick-together-on-tour kind of thing.

Spencer's first impression of Bob, formed before he'd actually gotten up the courage to talk to him, was of a friendly but still sort of stand-offish guy. The badass kind that didn't take any shit and would never end up in random puppy piles like Spencer and his band did. Not that it was a bad thing that Brendon was equally prone to nakedness and snuggling (and had no qualms about completely platonic naked cuddling) or that Spencer and Ryan had known each other for so long that the term _personal space_ had lost all meaning or that Jon Walker might as well have worn a sign around his neck reading "free (and awesome) hugs!"

Basically, they were all really obvious which was the one thing Bob was not, so Spencer wasn't really expecting Bob to tug him up against his side on the couch and say, "Is this okay?"

"Yeah," Spencer said and relaxed into Bob's side when Bob curled an arm around Spencer's shoulders. He tried to pay attention to the movie, but found himself turning his face into Bob's hoodie and kind of rubbing his cheek against the soft fabric over Bob's shoulder. Bob made this low amused sound that was suspiciously like a purr, so Spencer did it again.

He was grinning like an idiot, but Bob couldn't see his face so Spencer didn't care. However, he did try to be subtle about sniffing Bob, who smelled really good. There were hints of fabric softener and deodorant and smoke, but it was all muted and combined into a soft, warm Bob-scent.

And Spencer decided it was his favorite scent of all time.

 

***

(winter in Chicago)

Patrick gave up on sleeping around 2 am because his teeth were chattering so much he bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood. He dragged himself out of bed and the floor was freezing even through two pairs of socks, but by being upright, he was committed to moving. He wrapped his blanket around him and shuffled out into the hallway.

He listened carefully at Bob's door for a few seconds to see if he could hear Bob moving around. All he could hear was his own teeth chattering so he pushed it open and stuck his head in. Bob was sitting up in bed squinting into the light from the hall pouring through the doorway. "Well, come on in or nobody's getting to sleep tonight."

"Sorry, sorry, it's just so fucking cold in my room." Patrick waddled across the floor, nearly tripping over his blanket as he reached the side of Bob's bed. Bob pulled his covers back just enough for Patrick to crawl in beside him and then helped Patrick spread his blanket out on top of them both.

"The super promised it'll be fixed tomorrow," Bob said around a yawn, and Patrick nodded as he scooted down in the bed until he was completely under the covers except for just enough of his face to breathe.

Bob's bed was much warmer than his, and even though he was starting to thaw out a little, Patrick was still shaking. He thought he heard a very faint sigh before Bob turned onto his side facing Patrick and said, "Come here. You're like Chilly Willy over there."

Patrick moved an inch closer to Bob, then another half inch, and then Bob huffed out an impatient breath and shoved a hand under Patrick's shoulder and tipped him over onto his side, then he slid over so that the front of his body pressed all along the back of Patrick's. He shoved one hand under Patrick's pillow and pulled the covers up to their ears, then hooked his other arm around Patrick's middle. "Warmer?"

Patrick had come in here because he'd known Bob had a couple more blankets on his bed and had figured that shared body heat from lying next to each other--a respectable distance apart--would be better than shivering and freezing in separate rooms. He hadn't really expected to be spooned, but he couldn't deny that it was definitely doing the trick. "Yeah. Who's Chilly Willy?"

"The little cartoon penguin from the Woody Woodpecker show? He's always cold which is funny because he's a _penguin_."

"Uh _huh_ ," Patrick said skeptically, and he could feel Bob's chest shake against his back in a silent laugh.

"Whatever, it was hilarious when I five." Bob huffed out a breath against the back of Patrick's neck that sent a shiver down his spine. He brought his knees up to slot in behind Patrick's bent knees so that Patrick's feet rested against his shins, warming his icy toes.

Patrick felt completely surrounded by Bob, and after a second or two of uncertainty, he relaxed into Bob's arms and said, "I dunno. I wasn't born yet."

Bob groaned and said, "Go to sleep."

Patrick fell asleep to the rhythm of Bob's heart and breath.

 

***

(sick day)

"Brian...hey, Schechter!

Bob sounded a little impatient, like maybe he'd said Brian's name a few times already. Brian blinked slowly. "What?"

"You look awful. Go back to the bus before you pass out." Bob took Brian gently by the shoulders and turned him in the right direction and even got him to walk a few feet before Brian shook him off.

"No, I need to be here."

"The world won't end if you take a nap." Bob crossed his arms over his chest and tried to stare Brian down. "Just admit you have the flu already. If you keel over, I'm not carrying your ass back to the bus. I'm going to leave you where you drop."

Brian stared blearily. "You wouldn't."

"Wanna try me?" Bob gave Brian his meanest look but Brian knew that deep down Bob was a marshmallow. Brian's grandma was meaner than Bob. Brian tried to stand up straight and look healthy, but every part of his body ached and all the coffee in the world wouldn't get rid of the chills that kept creeping over him. Bob shook his head. "You're ridiculous. Did you even take anything?"

"I'll take something later, after we get back on the road." Brian thought that was a good compromise, but Bob obviously disagreed because he hooked one hand under Brian's arm and waved Cortez over with the other.

"If anyone is looking for Brian, he'll be on the bus taking a nap. And nobody better disturb him."

"A nap," Cortez said with a smirk. "Riiiiight."

Bob rolled his eyes and started dragging Brian off to the bus. Brian thought briefly of digging in his heels, but he just didn't have the energy to fight Bob when he was this determined.

It was only when Bob had him tucked up in the couch with a blanket and a hot cup of Theraflu that Brian conceded that maybe he'd subconsciously wanted this, and that's why he'd never been more than eight feet away from Bob all day. Like maybe Bob was the only person he trusted on tour to take care of him if he pushed himself too far. That was something to think about later when his head wasn't swimming.

He started feeling mildly better after he finished drinking the medicine, so he started to push himself to his feet so he could go back to work. Bob plopped down onto the couch beside him and said, "Come on, Brian, you know if you keep pushing yourself, you'll just get sicker and then you'll be useless to everyone."

Fuck, Bob really knew where to aim. Brian sighed deeply and settled back down. He didn't even protest when Bob wrapped an arm around him, just leaned into Bob's shoulder and soaked up some of his warmth. He tried to keep his eyes open so that he could move away in a hurry if someone came onto the bus, but he was so tired his eyelids kept slipping closed and taking longer and longer to open up again.

"Go to sleep now. It'll be okay." Bob's murmured words penetrated Brian's cloudy head as if from a great distance, and he let Bob's presence and his certainty be the comfort that he needed. He drifted off secure in the knowledge that maybe the world _wouldn't_ come to an end if he took a nap. Bob would see to it.

 

***

(sometimes you get what you need)

 

Matt pulled into his driveway a few minutes before midnight and parked next to Bob's jeep. Bob was sitting on the front steps smoking even though he'd quit almost six months ago.

Getting out of his car, Matt approached slowly and said, "Hey."

Bob turned to look at him, exhaustion clear in every line of his face even in the amber glow of the streetlights. "Hey."

Matt hadn't seen or heard from Bob in over a week since he'd sent Matt a text message that said, _Sorry I can't make it to the show. We're getting 23 dogs from puppy mill tonight. Going to be a lot of overtime._

After five days or so of not hearing from Bob, Matt had texted to ask if he was okay and Bob had replied, _Fine. Just busy._

So Matt had been waiting, willing to let Bob be the one to get in touch, and here he was, the very picture of not fine at all.

Bob got to his feet as Matt walked up, and neither of them said anything else. Matt just gathered him into a hug. Bob stood stiffly for a full thirty seconds but Matt didn't let go and eventually something snapped and Bob melted in Matt's arms. He leaned his head against Matt's shoulder and turned his face into the side of Matt's neck. His hands came up to circle Matt's waist

"Ten of them didn't make it." Bob said, his voice low but matter of fact.

Matt tightened his grip on Bob and nuzzled the side of his head as he whispered into Bob's ear, "I know you worked your ass off to save them. Just think of those lucky thirteen who survived."

Bob stiffened and pulled away. "It's too early for that. There's still a lot of work to do, still so much that can happen."

Matt nodded and went up the steps and unlocked the door, reaching in and flipping on the lights before motioning Bob to step inside. "You can take one night off to recharge."

"I should--" Bob started but Matt shut the door a little more sharply than he meant to and Bob closed his mouth abruptly before finishing that sentence.

Matt understood that Bob occasionally got his heart broken by little helpless balls of fur. He put too much of himself into his work and into the dogs he helped rescue from horrifying situations. It was frustrating to see him suffer over lost pups, but if he was capable of detaching enough that it didn't bother him, he wouldn't be the Bob that Matt knew and loved. He wrapped an arm around Bob's shoulders and walked him toward the living room. "Do you want a drink?"

"No, I have to drive home in just a little while."

"You don't have to go. Stay with me tonight."

"I shouldn't," Bob said, but he turned his head toward the end of the hall where Matt's bedroom was. "I have to get up early to go back to the shelter."

"I'll set my alarm for whatever time you need." Matt paused and let Bob be the one to take the first step and choose the direction they were going to go.

Bob glanced at Matt and then at the living room doorway. After a moment, he started down the hall and said, "I have to be up at five."

"No problem."

Matt made sure to set the alarm before he even helped Bob undress and double-checked it after he had Bob settled under the covers. He climbed into bed and pulled Bob into his arms again, but this time it was a full body embrace, skin to skin contact broken only by Bob's boxers. He rubbed a hand over Bob's back and dropped a kiss to the top of his head. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I--no, not right now." Bob had his face buried in Matt's neck so his beard tickled Matt's collarbone as he spoke. "Can we just..."

"Sure, whatever you want," Matt said gently, his hand sweeping rhythmically up and down Bob's spine. He'd have liked to have reassured Bob that everything would be all right, but he was too much of a realist to sell it with any conviction. The one thing he could do, however, was let Bob know he wasn't alone. "I'll be here."

Bob sighed and relaxed a little bit more. Rubbing his fingers over Matt's biceps in an absent fashion, he said quietly, "I'm glad you came home when you did. I was only giving you a few more minutes until I went on home."

"I'd have been here sooner if you'd called and told me you were coming." Bob raised his head to look at Matt, and Matt brushed his lips over Bob's forehead. "Why didn't you let me know you were here?"

Bob ducked his head again and pressed his mouth to Matt's neck briefly before saying, "Didn't want to be a bother, I guess."

"You really don't know how this thing works, do you?" Matt asked, squeezing Bob to him and giving him a little shake. "If you need me, I'll come. Unless I am physically unable to get there for some reason like being on tour on the other side of the world, I'll do everything in my power to be here for you. I kind of thought you were feeling the same?"

"Well, yeah, I would...I just...you know." Bob shrugged and Matt thought he did know where Bob was coming from. He'd been fucked over a few times before he and Matt got together, so he'd probably come to expect that people he cared about would let him down. Matt couldn't guarantee that he'd never fail Bob in some way--he was only human, after all--but he certainly would try his best. He didn't know how to make Bob believe it. However, Bob clearly trusted him enough to just show up on his doorstep tonight and wait for Matt to come home and comfort him, so maybe they were nearly there already.

Instead of pointing all that out right now, Matt decided to save it for later and said, "So, have you picked one out yet?"

Bob mumbled something unintelligible against Matt's shoulder, and when Matt poked him in the ribs he shifted and said, "Two, actually. A little chocolate lab and a rottie that was the runt of his litter."

"Uh huh. Why am I not surprised?" Matt grinned and kissed Bob on top of the head.

"Shut up. They chose me." Despite his snarky tone, Bob clutched Matt to him a little tighter, making Matt go back to stroking him soothingly.

"Maybe I'll share custody," Matt offered. "If you and the puppies are okay with that."

Bob didn't say anything for a very long moment, but he did settle down and relax again. Eventually he yawned and said, "Yeah, I'm okay with it."

Matt smiled at the warmth spreading through his chest, and then Bob added, "And the puppies are going to love you."

Which was probably the highest praise ever, coming from Bob.

 

The end.


End file.
